Drowsy driving is dangerous, prevalent

Do you ever drive when you feel sleepy? Did you know how dangerous this is?

Drowsy Driving Prevention Week is a Nov. 12-18 initiative hosted by the National Sleep Foundation to shed light on several notable facts:

37 percent of adult drivers have fallen asleep at the wheel;

100,000 police-reported crashes per year directly result from driver fatigue, resulting in 1,550 deaths and 71,000 injuries; and

people who sleep six-to-seven hours per night are twice as likely to be involved in a drowsy-driving crash as those sleeping eight hours or more.

The annual observance includes public education on drowsy driving risks and measures to improve driving safety. The Huffington Post shared the likelihood of driving drowsy by age, work schedule, gender and parental status in an infographic, as seen below:

The foundation also hosts on its website a user-submitted memorium for lives lost to drowsy driving crashes, with accounts of the fatal incidents written by loved ones.